Lesson 91 Power BI Row-Level Security (RLS) – Best Practices & Implementation

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Power BI Row-Level Security (RLS) is essential for controlling access to data based on user roles. In this guide, you’ll learn:

• ✔ What is Row-Level Security (RLS) in Power BI?
• ✔ How to implement RLS step by step
• ✔ Best practices for setting up Power BI security
• ✔ Real-world examples of RLS use cases

Let’s dive in! 🚀

1️⃣ What is Row-Level Security (RLS) in Power BI?

🔐 Row-Level Security (RLS) restricts data access based on user roles. Instead of showing all the data, Power BI only displays relevant data based on the user's credentials.

🛠 Example Use Case:

• A sales manager should only see sales data for their assigned region.
• A finance analyst should only view financial reports for their department.
• 📌 Without RLS: Everyone sees all data 🛑
• 📌 With RLS: Users only see their relevant data ✅

2️⃣ How to Implement Row-Level Security in Power BI

Let’s set up RLS in Power BI step by step.

🔹 Step 1: Load Your Data

1. Open Power BI Desktop
2. Import your dataset (Excel, SQL, or another source)
3. Ensure you have a column for User Roles or Email IDs

🛠 Example Dataset:

Employee Region Role                 Email

John        North Sales Manager john@company.com

Alice        South Sales Manager alice@company.com

Mark         West Sales Manager mark@company.com

🔹 Step 2: Create Roles in Power BI

1. Go to Modeling > Click Manage Roles
2. Click Create New Role
3. Select the Table that contains user information
4. Enter a DAX Filter Expression

📌 Example DAX Filter:

DAX

[Email] = USERPRINCIPALNAME()

✅ Now, Power BI will only display data for the logged-in user!

🔹 Step 3: Assign Users to Roles

1. Save the role
2. Click View as Roles to test it
3. Publish the report to Power BI Service
4. In Power BI Service, go to Security Settings and assign users to roles

🔐 Example:

John sees only North Region Sales

Alice sees only South Region Sales

Mark sees only West Region Sales

🚀 RLS is now active!

3️⃣ Best Practices for Power BI Row-Level Security

• ✔ Use USERPRINCIPALNAME() for dynamic security – This ensures users only see their own data.
• ✔ Avoid hardcoding user emails – Use a lookup table for flexible security management.
• ✔ Test roles before publishing – Always verify RLS using “View as Role” mode.
• ✔ Use RLS in combination with Power BI Service – Manage permissions centrally.
• ✔ Combine RLS with Object-Level Security (OLS) – Restrict not just rows but also specific columns.

4️⃣ Real-World Examples of RLS Implementation

• 📌 Power BI for Sales Teams – Sales managers see only their assigned region’s data.
• 📌 Power BI for HR Analytics – HR staff see only employee data from their department.
• 📌 Power BI for Financial Reporting – Finance users see only their budget and expenses.

🚀 With RLS, organizations ensure data privacy and compliance!

5️⃣ Summary – Implementing Row-Level Security in Power BI

• ✔ Understand RLS – It restricts data access by user roles
• ✔ Create roles in Power BI – Use Manage Roles and DAX filters
• ✔ Assign users to roles – Map roles to users via Power BI Service
• ✔ Follow best practices – Use dynamic security and test your setup

🔔 Coming up next:

• ✔ Power BI Performance Optimization – Speed Up Slow Reports
• ✔ Power BI Embedded Analytics – How to Integrate with Apps
• ✔ Power BI Data Modeling Best Practices

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